Kick a Cold — Kids sinus rinse

My 4-year old woke up snuffy and with a dry cough this morning. “Mommy,” he asked, “can I have some nose medicine?”

First, I’m so proud of him for asking for a remedy that he doesn’t enjoy at all but obviously knows that a small amount of discomfort will ease his suffering tremendously. Now that’s a smart, brave boy.

And second, it told me how lousy he felt that he would actually ask for this without me even offering it. Poor kid.

Good timing, too, as many pediatric cold medicines were removed from stores across the country today for fear that parents will inadvertantly overdose their children, and it was recommended that children under 2 not be medicated for cold relief. I couldn’t agree more.

For my son, however, once we applied the “nose medicine”, he felt better within minutes. A good sinus rinse is invaluable, as I talked about in my Sinus Rinse post. As much as I love NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse Saline Nasal Rinse, it is too much for infants and children. For them I use Little Noses Saline Spray/Drops, Non-Medicated Relief for Dry or staffy Noses. Just squirt some in each nostril, wipe detrius with a kleenex, and you’re good to go. It’s my first line of defense for little ones. Be sure to get the unmedicated formula; once I used the anti-histimine version and my 15-month old was wired for hours. On a plane. Huge mistake.

Run a humidifier in the bedroom to lubricate nasal passages and ease congestion during sleep.

Next I’ll discuss various homeopathic remedies helpful to use when kicking a cold.